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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — a short time
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — letters
  6. bore — to drill
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — magic
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. scale — size or range
  14. court — for sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to tire
  20. scale — in music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chest — a box

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com